From Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum: According to the U.S Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Zimbabwe 2014 Human Rights Report, in 2014, the most important human rights problems remained the government’s targeting for torture, abuse, arrest, and harassment members of non-ZANU-PF parties and civil society activists; partisan application of the rule of law by security forces and the judiciary; and restrictions on civil liberties.

There were many other human rights problems. Prison conditions were harsh. Lengthy pretrial detention, denial of bail, and lack of access to legal representation were problems. The government’s expropriation of private property continued. Executive political influence and interference in the judiciary continued, and the government infringed on citizens’ privacy rights. The government generally failed to investigate or prosecute state security or ZANU-PF supporters responsible for violence. Authorities restricted freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and movement.

The government continued to evict citizens; invade farms, private businesses and properties; and demolish informal marketplaces and settlements. Security forces beat, arrested, and detained internally displaced persons (IDPs). The government impeded efforts by non governmental organizations (NGOs) to assist those displaced and other vulnerable populations. The government arrested, detained, prosecuted, and harassed NGO members. Government corruption remained widespread, including at the local level. Violence and discrimination against women; child abuse; trafficking of women and children; and discrimination against persons with disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons, and persons with HIV/AIDS were problems. The government interfered with labor-related events.

The government took limited steps to punish security sector officials and ZANU-PF supporters who committed violations, but impunity continued to be a problem.

(Johannesburg, May 8, 2015) – Zimbabwe authorities should urgently provide information on the whereabouts of a prominent human rights activist, Itai Dzamara, Human Rights Watch said today. Five armed men abducted Dzamara on March 9, 2015. He has not been heard from since, raising grave concerns that he has been forcibly disappeared.

Family members told Human Rights Watch that state security agents had repeatedly threatened Dzamara prior to his abduction, warning him that something would happen if he did not halt his activism. Authorities have denied involvement in his abduction.

“Zimbabwe authorities appear to be doing nothing to find Itai Dzamara, increasing concerns about his safety,” said Dewa Mavhinga, Southern Africa senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The threats against Dzamara by state security agents are a red flag for Zimbabwe’s international allies to press the government to come clean about what happened to him.”

Dzamara, a 36-year-old journalist and human rights activist, is a leader of the Occupy Africa Unity Square protest group. He has led a number of peaceful protests against the deteriorating political and economic environment in Zimbabwe, petitioned President Robert Mugabe to resign to allow for fresh elections, and called for reforms to the electoral system.

On several occasions in 2014 and 2015, police and supporters of Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party assaulted Dzamara. During a peaceful protest in November 2014, about 20 uniformed police handcuffed and beat Dzamara unconscious with batons. When his lawyer, Kennedy Masiye, tried to intervene, the police beat him as well, breaking his arm. Both were hospitalized.

Two days before he was abducted, Dzamara addressed a political rally organized by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T), calling for mass protests against worsening repression and economic conditions in Zimbabwe.

On March 9, 2015, at about 10 a.m., the five unidentified men dragged Dzamara out of the barber shop where he was having his hair cut near his home in the Glenview suburb of Harare, the capital. The men handcuffed him, forced him into a white pickup truck, and drove off, witnesses said.

Zimbabwe authorities have denied any government involvement in the abduction. On April 10, Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, in response to a Human Rights Watch inquiry about Dzamara’s whereabouts, tweeted, “I don’t know, and I have no basis for knowing.”

On March 13, Dzamara’s wife, Sheffra Dzamara, approached the high court in Harare to compel state authorities to search for her husband. Judge David Mangota ordered the home affairs minister, the police commissioner-general, and the director-general of the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) “to do all things necessary to determine his whereabouts.” The ruling included an order to advertise on all state media and work closely with lawyers appointed by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights to search for Dzamara “at all such places as may be within their jurisdiction.” The judge ordered the government to report to the court every two weeks on its progress with the case until Dzamara is found.

Senior state security officials have yet to comply with the High Court’s orders.

On April 25, activists organized a car procession to raise awareness about Dzamara’s presumed enforced disappearance. Police arrested 11 of the activists and detained them for six hours, then released them without charge.

Sheffra Dzamara reported in early April that unidentified men were keeping her under constant surveillance and that she feared for her life. Zimbabwean authorities should immediately take steps to ensure the safety of Dzamara’s wife and children, Human Rights Watch said.

Human rights activists in Zimbabwe face severe restrictions on their work. Police frequently misuse laws such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) to ban lawful public meetings and gatherings. Opposition and other activists are unjustly prosecuted under these laws. The government should repeal or appropriately amend both laws to bring them in line with the new constitution and Zimbabwe’s obligations under international law.

Enforced disappearances are defined under international law as the arrest or detention of a person by state officials or their agents followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty, or to reveal the person’s fate or whereabouts. Enforced disappearances violate a range of fundamental human rights protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Zimbabwe is a party, including prohibitions against arbitrary arrest and detention; torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; and extrajudicial execution.

“The Zimbabwean government should immediately establish Dzamara’s whereabouts, and ensure the protection of all his rights,” Mavhinga said. “Failure to do so would demonstrate to the world that Zimbabwe’s poor human rights record has not improved.”

http://africanarguments.org/2015/04/23/as-the-house-burns-whither-the-zimbabwean-opposition-by-nicole-beardsworth/ The Zimbabwean economy is going through structural regression, with rapid deindustrialisation,
burgeoning external debt, an over 85% formal unemployment rate and nominal growth due to declining
investment and a biting liquidity crunch. Between 2011 and 2015 over 4,610 companies closed their
doors leaving over 55 000 workers redundant, putting further pressure on a cash-strapped
population. This year´s harvest has failed due to insufficient rain while a regional maize shortage
and empty government coffers will leave thousands without sufficient food.

“The human rights situation in Zimbabwe remained relatively stable throughout 2013, with a slight improvement on previous years. Zimbabwe Peace Project reported fewer than 5,000 cases of politically motivated human rights violations between January to November 2013. This compares to 5,096 in 2012, and 10,188 in 2011, 10,703 in 2010, 14,725 in 2009, and a peak of 23,755 cases recorded for 2008. Levels of politically motivated human rights violations have continued on a downward trajectory throughout the country.

However, serious concerns remain, including political violence, and harassment of political opposition, journalists, judges and human rights defenders (HRDs). Many international human rights indicators still rank Zimbabwe amongst the worst countries in the world in terms of civil liberties, political rights and press freedoms.

2013

UKBA: Operational Guidance Note: Zimbabwe

The OGN provides Home Office caseworkers with guidance on the nature and handling of the most common types of claims received from nationals/residents of Zimbabwe, including whether claims are or are not likely to justify the granting of asylum, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave. Caseworkers must refer to the relevant asylum instructions for further details of the policy on these areas

October 2013 – Solidarity Peace Trust Report

Noel Kututwa, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Southern Africa said ‘There is no doubt that the new government will be judged on the basis of its human rights record and ability to improve the living conditions for everyone in the country’.

The Government of Zimbabwe must guarantee all human rights enshrined in the new Constitution, Amnesty International said in a Human Rights Agenda issued as President Robert Mugabe approaches the 100th day of his new term.
In the report, Human Rights Agenda for the New Government – 2013 to 2018, the organization urges the Zimbabwean government to take significant steps to improve the country’s poor human rights record

July

Zimbabwe Election 2013 Resourceswww.kubatana.net improves the accessibility of human rights and civic information in Zimbabwe. You can browse over 23,300 articles, reports and other documents. Use our Directory to contact a variety of NGOs, civil society organisations and social justice groups.

Voting
Know where to vote: here is the full list of polling stations
Know who to vote for: here is the list of candidates
Know what to vote for: here are the party manifestos: MDC-T / Zanu PF / MDC

Another AfricaFocus Bulletin available on the web at http://www.africafocus.org/docs13/zim1307b.php) contains two
parallel civil society reports, from the Research and Advocacy Unit and the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, with analyses of the
Zimbabwe Voters’ Roll being used for the July 31 election. Also included is a statement by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
following the first round of “special voting” by Zimbabwe security forces.